Bag closing seal

ABSTRACT

A bag sealing device comprises an opposed press lock structure together with two adhesive bearing strips disposed below the press lock structure together with at least one strip that is employed to prevent premature sticking of the two adhesive bearing strips. This device is employed in combination with a bag containing a food product with disposed within the bag.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional application which is related to thesubject matter of the following application which is assigned to thesame assignee as this application. The application listed below ishereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety:

application Ser. No. 16/128,804 filed on Sep. 12, 2018 and issued asU.S. Patent No. ______ on ______.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention is generally directed to the sealing of openedbags of food products. More particularly, the present invention isdirected to a system and method for reclosing a bag that has been openedso that a more air tight seal is provided. Even more particularly, thepresent invention is directed to a combination of a bag containing aproduct intended to be kept fresh together with an enclosed device forfreshness preservation following the opening of the bag.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

After opening a bag containing a food product, it becomes problematic toreclose the bag again in a manner which maximally preserves prescience.For purposes of the present discussion, the focus is on a bag of potatochips which serves as an exemplar for the present invention. However,any bag containing a food product which loses its desirability uponexposure to air is intended to be covered by the present discussion.This includes items such as pretzels, cookies, chips, baked goods,popcorn, nuts, fruit products especially dried fruits and the like.

As alluded to above, it is observed that various food products losetheir freshness when exposed to air, most notably because of thepresence of oxygen in air. If the food product is consumed immediatelythis issue becomes moot. However, it is often the case that the foodproduct is consumed over a period of time rather than just at a singlesitting. Reclosing the bag that the food product came in then becomes anissue. This is the issue that is addressed by the present invention.

There are several types of closures which are effective in keeping airout of the package for a sufficiently desirable period of time. The mostnotable form of this closure is the well-known Ziploc® bag. These bagsgenerally come in two different varieties. In the first variety, anairtight seal is maintained by pressing together two opposite facingflexible strips with one strip bearing a raised, rounded ridge which ispressed into a corresponding ridge on the opposite strip which includesa depressed portion into which the raised ridge is inserted. A secondvariety of airtight seals is similar to the first variety except thatthe ceiling operation is performed via the motion of a sliding piecewhich acts to press the raised ridge into a corresponding depression onthe other strip. The present invention is capable of using either one ofthese well-known sealing mechanisms to achieve the desired airtightseal. More generally, sealing mechanisms of the kind referred to aboveare generally referred to as press lock seals. Accordingly, the sealingmechanisms employed in conjunction with the present invention arereferred to herein generically as “press lock seals.”

However, as is well known, the great majority of food products sold inbag like containers do not include any mechanism for resealing. Instead,this function is often carried out by means of rolling the top of thebag over and over so as to produce a closure. This closure may bemaintained by means of an elastic band, a paper clamp or a paperclip.Sometimes, this closure is even maintained by means of one or morestrips of adhesive tape. This is the typical approach to providing aresealing once a food product bag has been opened. It is, of course,assumed herein that the food product bag is otherwise airtight.

The problem is that this mechanism for post-opening re-closure does notreally keep air out of the container. Air still seeps in and operates toreduce the freshness of the food product. As tightly as one might rollthe top of the bag downward in an overlapping fashion this mechanismdoes not provide a sufficiently tight seal which is capable ofpreserving food freshness over relatively arbitrary lengths of time.

Efforts at providing solutions to the sealing issue described aboveinclude the issued U.S. Pat. No. 4,584,201 issued to L. R. Boston onApr. 22, 1986. However, it is noted that his device requires rolling upof the bag, and operation that is not required by the present inventionand which furthermore fails to provide the desired degree of airtightness. Another approach this problem has been proposed by Huffer etal. is US patent application number 2002/0114541 published on Aug. 22,2002. This application is directed to resealing bags but requires thatthe sealing mechanism be already built into the bag. There is noretrofit capability. A different approach for a related problem (packagetampering) is shown in US patent application number 2015/0266626published on Sep. 24, 2015 in the name of Forman et al. The techniquedescribed therein requires the use of transparent tape and a slit in thebag neither of which are employed in the present invention.

From the above, it is therefore seen that there exists a need in the artto overcome the deficiencies and limitations described herein and above.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It should be appreciated that this Summary is provided to introduce aselection of concepts in a simplified form that are further describedbelow in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to beused to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.

The shortcomings of the prior art are overcome and additional advantagesare provided through a simple device for sealing an opened bag. Inparticular, the device comprises: a length of press lock seal withopposing strip portions disposed below the press lock seal; and adhesivematerial disposed on opposed inside portions of the opposing stripportions; and at least one removable adhesive covering strip disposedbetween the oppositely facing adhesive material.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention each of the stripscontaining adhesive material is provided with an adhesive covering stripwhich is removable by means of a simple peeling operation. This coveringstrip is intended to prevent premature application of the adhesive tothe bag in question and it is also intended to prevent the two stripsfrom sticking to one another before the intended use of the presentinvention.

While it is possible to employ a single covering strip for theprevention of the premature engaging of the adhesive, it is preferablethat a single covering strip be employed for each adhesive area.

In another aspect of the present invention, it is disposed within a foodproduct bag at the time of sale. After sale and opening of the foodproduct bag, it can be removed from the bag and employed to effectuatethe sealing operation disclosed herein.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to keep foodfresher longer.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a mechanism forthe reclosure of an open the food product bag.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide aconveniently packaged combination of a food product bag together with aninstance of the present invention to be used as a bag closure subsequentto its opening by the food product consumer.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide aneasily manufactured device for food product bag closure.

It is still another object of the present invention to encourage the useof a bag closure device for the preservation of food freshness.

Lastly, but not limited hereto, it is an even further object of thepresent invention to make the resealing of food product bags simple,inexpensive and easy.

Additional features and advantages are realized through the techniquesof the present invention. Other embodiments and aspects of the inventionare described in detail herein and are considered a part of the claimedinvention.

The recitation herein of desirable objects which are met by variousembodiments of the present invention is not meant to imply or suggestthat any or all of these objects are present as essential features,either individually or collectively, in the most general embodiment ofthe present invention or in any of its more specific embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The subject matter which is regarded as the invention is particularlypointed out and distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of thespecification. The invention, however, both as to organization andmethod of practice, together with the further objects and advantagesthereof, may best be understood by reference to the followingdescription taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional end view illustrating one embodiment of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a front view illustrating the same embodiment of the presentinvention as seen in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 a cross-sectional view illustrating the use of the presentinvention in performing a bag closure;

FIG. 4 is a front view illustrating the bag closure operation shown inFIG. 3; and

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional side view illustrating the presence of thepresent invention within a food product container prior to its shipment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates the present invention from an edge on orcross-sectional view. Press lock portions 110 and 210 are designed toform a tight seal when pressed together in a locked fashion. Theseportions can have any convenient size or shape as long as they fittogether snugly when pressed together so as to form a substantiallyairtight seal. While there is only one such structure shown, it ispossible to employ double or triple structures for better sealingpurposes. These press lock portions are supported by flexible substrate120 on one side and 220 on the opposite side. The structures preferablycomprises a material such as a flexible polymer and more particularly apolymer such as polyethylene. However, any convenient substrate willwork, its primary requirement being that it is flexible. Substrates 120and 220 include strips of adhesive 125 and 225 disposed on theirrespective interior surfaces. There is also provided peelable protectivecover strips 130 and 230 respectively over adhesive portions 125 and225. The dotted line indicates that flexible substrates 120 and 220 arejoined at their ends.

FIG. 2 is similar to FIG. 1 except that it shows a preferred embodimentof the present invention from a side view. Similarly labeled structureshaving the same reference numeral are the same in both drawings. Inparticular, it is noted that the device of the present invention bearsreference numeral 100. It is also seen in FIG. 2 that protectivecovering strips 125 and 225 are employed to cover adhesive material 130and 230. These materials are disposed in proposed positions, as seen inFIG. 1.

FIG. 3 illustrates the use of the present invention in closing bag 150.In particular, peelable protective material 125 and 225 is removed fromthe underlying adhesive layer one at a time. As each protective materialstrip is removed, it is placed flat against bag 150 and pressed toprovide adhesion between the device and the bag. After the firstprotective material layer 120 or 225 is removed, the second protectivelayer is removed and one will find that the device of the presentinvention is naturally placed against the bag ready to have the secondadhesive strip firmly pressed against the bag by the user. The width ofthe device of the present invention is naturally selected to be widerthan the bag opening that it is designed to close. The adhesive materialwhich is in contact with bag 150, when in place for closure, is also incontact with adhesive material on it supposed underlying strip/substrate124 or 220.

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 except that the invention, in usewith a bag which it closes, is seen in a side view. Portions of theinvention that are not viewable are shown in dotted lines. This view isparticularly relevant in that, as discussed above, it helps to relatethe width of the invention with the width of the fact that it seeks toclose. Naturally, the width of the invention is greater than the widthof the bag opening.

The present invention is marketable in two different forms. In a firstform, packets of the present invention are sold in groups of a pluralityof closure devices. In this form, a user purchases a packet of devicesand employs them as needed with various ones of the food products thatthey purchase. This is clearly a retrofit mode of operation where one isnot at all concerned about the bag having its own closure mechanism. Ina different form, the present invention is marketed in combination witha food product bag with which it is used. In this form, closure devicesof the present invention are sold in combination with the food productsand the food product bags that they are intended to close. This aspectof the present invention is illustrated in FIG. 5.

All publications and patent applications mentioned in this specificationare indicative of the level of skill of those skilled in the art towhich this invention pertains. All publications and patent applicationsare herein incorporated by reference to the same extent as if eachindividual publication or patent application was specifically andindividually indicated to be incorporated by reference.

Although the description above contains many specifics, these should notbe construed as limiting the scope of the invention, but as merelyproviding illustrations of some of the presently preferred embodimentsof this invention. Thus, the scope of this invention should bedetermined by the appended claims and their legal equivalents.Therefore, it will be appreciated that the scope of the presentinvention fully encompasses other embodiments which may become obviousto those skilled in the art, and that the scope of the present inventionis accordingly to be limited by the appended claims, in which referenceto an element in the singular is not intended to mean “one and only one”unless explicitly so stated, but rather “one or more.” All structural,chemical, and functional equivalents to the elements of theabove-described preferred embodiment that are known to those of ordinaryskill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and areintended to be encompassed by the present claims. Moreover, it is notnecessary for a device or method to address each and every problemsought to be solved by the present invention, for it to be encompassedby the present claims. Furthermore, no element, component, or methodstep in the present disclosure is intended to be dedicated to the publicregardless of whether the element, component, or method step isexplicitly recited in the claims. No claim element herein is to beconstrued under the provisions of 35 USC § 112, sixth paragraph, unlessthe element is expressly recited using the phrase “means for.”

While the invention has been described in detail herein in accordancewith certain preferred embodiments thereof, many modifications andchanges therein may be effected by those skilled in the art.Accordingly, it is intended by the appended claims to cover all suchmodifications and changes as fall within the spirit and scope of theinvention.

What is claimed is:
 1. The combination of a container having an openableend providing an opening to said container; and a sealing device forsaid container in which said sealing device is contained, said sealingdevice having a first portion and a second portion in which said firstportion of said sealing device includes a length of press lock seal withopposing strip portions facing one another so as to form a closable sealand in which said second portion of said sealing device is attached tosaid first portion, and in which said second portion has strips ofadhesive material disposed on opposed interior portions of said secondportion, said adhesive material extending across said second portion andbeing sufficiently wide and sufficiently long so as to permit the endportion of said container immediately adjacent to its openable end to bedisposed above said adhesive material and so that the openable end ofsaid container is also disposed below said adhesive material so thatadhesive-to-adhesive contact is also present above said openable endalong with adhesive-to-container contact below said openable end,whereby said openable end of said container is embedded within saidadhesive.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 in which said first portionincludes a zipper.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1 in which said firstportion includes opposed, flexible mating structures that snap togetherto form a seal.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1 in which at least onepeelable protective cover strip is disposed between strips of adhesivematerial, whereby contact is prevented prior to use.